Renault Duster : Official Review

This is a discussion on Renault Duster : Official Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by soumen.blore
Maintained a speed 80-90 on the highways as the car is still in run in period ...

Maintained a speed 80-90 on the highways as the car is still in run in period . Overall mileage achieved is 19 with 100% a/c on

I'm amazed at the fuel efficiency! I've tried driving my 85ps on NH4 @ 80 KMPH and the best I've got is 18 KMPL. Most of the times i get 16.5-17 KMPL driving @ 100-110 KMPH and have got as less as 11 when i drove beyond that. I'm kicking myself now for not having brought the 110! i could though the 85 was the better in terms of fuel efficiency.

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 29th June 2015 at 19:43.
Reason: References to speeding removed. Please refrain from mentioning about speeding on public roads. Thanks!

I'm kicking myself now for not having brought the 110! i could though the 85 was the better in terms of fuel efficiency.

To be honest I am also very happy with the mileage considering the time spent in traffic and a/c on throughout . I have not driven it beyond 90kmh so may be that could be the reason behind the mileage figure .
I was also considering the 85ps but then I wanted a better highway performer as I still use my bike for my office commute. May be 85ps is better in terms city mileage but I don't try to think about mileage when I am driving in Bangalore traffic

I have got myself Philips white vision h7 for the low beam will fit them asap as the low beam was really useless during my recent night highway drive . Went through the manual and remember seeing the high beam as h1 will double check that when getting the low beam fixed . I plan to order the xtremevision from powerbulbs once I know the exact fit

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Hi Soumen,
How is the experience with Philips white vision?
I am sorry about so much confusion, High beam is definitely H1.
I also upgraded by low beam to Osram Hids.
Earlier Hids were 5000K so visibility was close to zero in heavy rains, so I upgraded themto osram 4300K and I can feel the difference.

Hi divyankar, in my opinion there is far too much scattered light and glare for oncoming vehicles. Your cutoff for the height of the lights are also too high leaving a dark spot in the middle. Are these in your normal lenses or special ones?

Hi divyankar, in my opinion there is far too much scattered light and glare for oncoming vehicles. Your cutoff for the height of the lights are also too high leaving a dark spot in the middle. Are these in your normal lenses or special ones?

Hello,
I was also thinking that. I am planning to go to the service center for adjustments.
Also earlier I was not aware of high glare which will cause inconvenience to incoming traffic or else I would have settled for Philips xtream visions which are 1/4th the price.

I'm amazed at the fuel efficiency! I've tried driving my 85ps on NH4 @ 80 KMPH and the best I've got is 18 KMPL. Most of the times i get 16.5-17 KMPL driving @ 100-110 KMPH and have got as less as 11 when i drove beyond that. I'm kicking myself now for not having brought the 110! i could though the 85 was the better in terms of fuel efficiency.

Thanx. I thought so but the service rep at Trident Renault Bangalore said that there are no adjustments to be made for increasing the FE. This was recently when i got my second free service done. This tank up i have again done most rides @ 80kmph and MID still showing up as 874 kms @ 47 litres fuel consumed =18.5 KMPL . Tankful to tankful calculations are not helpful because sometimes the Duster does guzzle more than 50 litres of fuel at the tank-up!

On a side note guys, this being my first diesel just wanted to know a small thing. Do we keep the engine idling for a break of 2 to 5 mins or is it no issues if shut it off and restart again, what's more advisable?

I am due to book RxL 85 PS shortly (With Special pricing comes to 11.55 L OTR), this variant lacks ABS+EBD feature. RxL Plus is beyond my budget as it demands 1.2 Lakhs more (Ex-showroom > 10L so higher taxes at RTO@TN).

I would like to get your opinion on the need for ABS+EBD in duster (Sorry if it is a silly question, but I drive Santro so not experienced with ABS yet, for my driving style santro sure stops when ever I brake).

One of my friend suggested that ABS comes into play only when you are doing rash driving at speeds above 120 KMPH which I never do. I would like to know how effective ABS in duster and is it true that ABS gets kicked only at high speed under heavy load. (Read all posts about ABS, but not sure if there is anything specific to Duster).

If ABS should be a deal breaker, I will go and hunt for some other car for my budget (11 Lakhs) and comfort.

One of my friend suggested that ABS comes into play only when you are doing rash driving at speeds above 120 KMPH which I never do. I would like to know how effective ABS in duster and is it true that ABS gets kicked only at high speed under heavy load. (Read all posts about ABS, but not sure if there is anything specific to Duster).

If ABS should be a deal breaker, I will go and hunt for some other car for my budget (11 Lakhs) and comfort.

Sathya, your friend's suggestion on ABS functioning is entirely incorrect, Kindly ask him to go through the ABS threads here to rid him of his ignorance on the subject. Please go through ABS threads on the forum.

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One of my friend suggested that ABS comes into play only when you are doing rash driving at speeds above 120 KMPH which I never do. I would like to know how effective ABS in duster and is it true that ABS gets kicked only at high speed under heavy load....

Your friend is as ignorant as a lot of people. ABS can kick in as low as 20 kmph with just one person in the vehicle. Of course this varies with a lot of parameters like road condition, tyre grip,brake force etc. Please do go for a version with safety features, that's a wise investment. You'll never regret about it.

I would like to get your opinion on the need for ABS+EBD in duster (Sorry if it is a silly question, but I drive Santro so not experienced with ABS yet, for my driving style santro sure stops when ever I brake).

One of my friend suggested that ABS comes into play only when you are doing rash driving at speeds above 120 KMPH which I never do. I would like to know how effective ABS in duster and is it true that ABS gets kicked only at high speed under heavy load. (Read all posts about ABS, but not sure if there is anything specific to Duster).

ABS can kick in at any speed. I have had it kick in at crawling speeds (10kmph or so) in bumper to bumper traffic because I was a driving over a diesel spill. It has kicked in and allowed me to steer safely around an idiot jumping a signal, I was doing 50kmph or so.
Please invest in ABS+EBD. You won't regret it.